On Being Thankful

Today all over the USA, we stop and celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday. And we have a lot to be thankful for. So, you may ask yourself, why am I writing about the US holiday of Thansgiving in a blog about my love of Poland? I will explain shortly.

First of all, all of us living in the USA have a lot to be thankful for. We live in a wonderful country, the envy of the rest of the world, and a premier country in the world. We enjoy unparalleled freedom and opportunity and wealth. This country was built upon the premise that we’re all created equal and have equal opportunity and a right to freedom. Those are the “inalienable rights” that the fathers of our country talked about, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our country was founded by people who desired for and longed for freedom, freedoms of many sorts. To help found this country, we had to fight for that freedom. Guess who helped us? Poland, in the form of two generals, heros of the revolutionary war, Pulaski and Kosciuszko. They help found a country that, a long time later, would help liberate their country–several times. True, we let Poland down a few times as well, but we insisted on a new Poland after World War II, and in the 1980s we insisted on freedom from totalitarian communist rule.

But in the interim, we provide a place for Poles to come to. When Poland was oppressed, experiencing starvation, forced military servitude, and occupation by foreigners, we in the US provided a place for Poles to come to and enjoy freedom and opportunity.

Boy, did we provide, and many Poles took advantage of it. I am a byproduct of that. Grandma Konieczny’s parents, the Hajders, came from southwest Poland which was under German oppression. Grandpa Konieczny came when he was 6 years old (with his parents). Great Garndparents Alex Symbal and Katherine Kucharska came from far eastern Poland, Galacia at the time, an area ravaged by starvation. And Great Grandparents Francis Szczech and Wiktorya Sopiarz came from the mountains of south Poland, also Galacia at that time. All came here seeking freedom and opportunity. They came and worked hard. They were foreigners, not given any government handouts or benefits. They had to work hard for everything–and they did. They worked very hard. Long hours. No benefits. Only each other and other Poles and the land of opportunity to support them. And they prospered. Their hard work paid off. The married, had children, the children had children, and so on.

And so I sit here today, the beneficiary of all their hard work. But they all left me something, and that something is a part of their Polish heritage, part of their Polish souls. I can feel it. They were proud and hardworking people, proud of their new land–but also prould of their heritage, something they never forgot. And they instilled that in me. I feel it.

I felt it when I was in Poland. I felt “at home.” I am an American first and foremost. But I am truly a Polish-American because a part of my heart and soul is Polish. And I have my parent, grandparents, great-grandparents and extended family and friends to thank for that. And for that, I am truly, heartfeltfully grateful, and alwasy will be.

Amen!